Thai military seizes power in coup, imposes curfew

Thursday

May 22, 2014 at 2:00 PM

Thailand's military seized power Thursday in a bloodless coup, dissolving the government, scrapping the constitution and dispersing groups of protesters from both sides of the country's political divide who had gathered in Bangkok and raised fears of a violent showdown.

The Associated Press

BANGKOK — Thailand's military seized power Thursday in a bloodless coup, dissolving the government, scrapping the constitution and dispersing groups of protesters from both sides of the country's political divide who had gathered in Bangkok and raised fears of a violent showdown.

The powerful army chief, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, announced the military takeover in a statement broadcast on national television. It was followed by additional announcements including a nationwide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and an order for 18 government officials — including the ousted prime minister — to report immediately to the country's new governing military commission.

Soldiers kept a low profile in the center of the capital. But as the curfew approached, troops diverted traffic at key intersections and used armored personnel carriers to block some main roads, including the one in front of the U.S. Embassy. Soldiers dispersed most demonstrators from two protest sites where competing groups were camped out — one backing the now-ousted elected government and another that had struggled for seven months to unseat it.

Although the military insisted it wasn't taking sides, its ousting of the government met the key goal of the anti-government protesters. The pro-government "Red Shirt" supporters had earlier said they would not tolerate a coup, but there were no immediate signs of resistance or reports of violence. The military provided hundreds of buses to take the protesters home.

Long lines formed at the city's elevated train, subway stations and bus stations as panicked office workers tried to rush home before the curfew. Exceptions for the curfew were later announced for travelers and night shift workers, among others.

Flanked by the heads of the armed forces, Prayuth said the coup was launched "to quickly bring the situation back to normal, to let the people have love and unity as in the past, and to reform the political and economic systems — and to grant equality to every side."

"We ask the public not to panic and carry on their lives normally," Prayuth said, adding that the military would "provide protection" for foreigners in Thailand.

An army spokesman later announced that it had dissolved the caretaker government and canceled the constitution, but the Senate would remain in place. He said Prayuth would assume the duties of the prime minister until a new one was in place.

The army also ordered the suspension of all television broadcasting and replaced programming with patriotic music to fill air time between announcements.

Thailand's public television station, Thai PBS, continued to broadcast for a few hours over YouTube before those transmissions also ceased. The wife of the station's deputy managing director, Vanchai Tantivitayapitak, said he was detained by soldiers in the master control room while running the program on YouTube and taken to a military camp. He was later released.

CNN, BBC and other cable news channels were also taken off the air, but continued to report from Bangkok.

The coup was the 12th since Thailand's absolute monarchy ended in 1932.

"I hope the soldiers have come out this time to solve the problem once and for all. This is the fourth coup I've seen in my life now," said Pinkaew Pipatada, 65, a flower vendor at the Erawan shrine, a popular tourist site in central Bangkok.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed disappointment, saying there was "no justification for this military coup," and urged the immediate restoration of civilian government and a return to democracy.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said the Pentagon is reviewing its military relationship with Thailand in light of the coup, including an ongoing military exercise, but no decisions have yet been made.

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